“You will never be able to start a new chapter in your life unless you stop re-reading the last one.” ~ Author Unknown
Everyone’s past can be a touchy subject. We all have one. Do you feel good about your past? Do you remember your past and feel pain? Do you wish you could go back and change things? Would you? Do you regret your past? Are you holding your past against you and not forgiving yourself for mistakes made or poor decisions? Are you longing for those who have gone and feeling their loss instead of celebrating their life and the time you were blessed to have them?
What is it about the past we find so hard to let go? Truth be told. There’s not one thing in our past we can change. We can’t un-ring the bell. We can’t take back the harsh words. We can’t stop someone from dying. We can’t change someone leaving you. We can’t change what happened or what I really believe to be true, we can’t look at our past and believe the outcome could be any different than it was.
The past is over. You are here. The reality is, pining over the past is a waste of our precious time and energy. We must learn to let go. Interestingly, what we replay in our minds about the past are often the mistakes, regrets, and poor decisions we made along the way. The happy times of the past sometimes can get lost in the shuffle. Why do we hurt ourselves so badly? There’s no reason for it. We need to let it go.
The time is gone. We can never get time back. We just begin each day with a fresh new batch of 24 hours. We are all the same in this. There are no additional hours to be had each day. 24 hours. And, how do you want to feel and spend those 24 hours? Will you focus on what is done and over with? Regurgitate over and over how you wished the outcome could be different? Will you stay stuck in the past? What is the purpose for you in looking and living in the past? Do you need to feel validated in some way? Do you want to right a wrong? Well, if the players involved are around, maybe a heartfelt apology whether long overdue or not is what you need to do to let go of the past and move forward. Whether an apology is accepted or forgiven doesn’t matter. If you are holding yourself back from moving on because of something that happened long ago and you have an opportunity to reach out, and offer an apology, well friend, it might be the answer for you to get out of the past and into the life that is right in front you this very day
Cherish the wonderful moments of the past. The lessons learned from the wisdom of those who raised you. Take with you the traditions you hold dear and bring them along with you if they make you happy and you want to keep passing them down to your children and others in your life. Keep those beautiful moments with you always and focus on how wonderful you feel when you remember them. Anything else in the past which brings you down, keeps you stuck and makes you feel lousy, let it go. You are not the same person today you were so long ago and you will continue to change as you move forward.
The past is long gone. Love, joy, peace and happiness abounds today. Make peace with your past. To you and the bright life ahead of you.
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